struggling in my med-surg course.. study tips?

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i just got my results for my 1st test in med-surg and i failed!! i have 3 more unit tests and a final but i am not used to any grade under 80. i am very upset.... does anyone have studying tips? i read the 15 chapters tht the test covers before each lecture, take very good notes during class, and usually make flash cards. what am i doing wrong? i am so discouraged.:crying2:

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This helped me-

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Surgical-Nursing-Made-Incredibly-Easy/dp/1582555672/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product

Or you can get the CD version- it has a lot more test questions than the book does.

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hi!

here is a book i used in both of my med-surg classes (adult med-surg was 2nd semester and complex med-surg was the last semester) and it was such a "lifesaver"....very easy to read and comprehend. everything you need to know for med-surg.

medical-surgical nursing: reviews and rationales

its a series of nursing books by prentice hall.

isbn: 0130304573

author: mary ann hogan and tomas madayag

more info: http://www.nursingjobs.org/nursing-b...tem=0130304573

http://www.amazon.com/review/product...owviewpoints=1

also maybe a nclex study book can help you prepare for med-surg tests as well, they always have come in handy. some books actually divide topics up by subjects such as med-surg, pedi, ob, psych, etc.

if you decide to get a nclex book, i suggest saunders. :)

hope this infomation helps you!

jadu1106

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

part of studying med/surg is learning about many different diseases. that includes learning the pathophysiology, signs/symptoms, usual tests ordered, and medical treatment for a medical disease or condition. this includes knowing about any medical procedures that will need to be performed on the patient, their expected consequences during the healing phase, and potential complications. surgery is a treatment for a disease or condition.

click on the link at the bottom of this post, the critical thinking flow sheet for nursing students, and print it out. use this to help you learn all the elements you need to know about each medical disease/condition you will be studying in your course. to determine priority of treatments and interventions consider the sequence of the appearance of symptoms and/or maslow's hierarchy of needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs)

read the information and weblinks on this sticky:

the basic strategy for answering critical thinking (application type) questions is as follows, you must:

  • know and consider the normal anatomy and physiology
  • know and consider abnormal anatomy for the disease in question
  • know and consider the resulting signs and symptoms when the disease occurs and how they proceed from mild to fatal - each sign and symptom can be related back to the pathophysiology of the disease
  • know and consider how the doctor diagnoses and treats the disease in question
  • know nursing interventions for the signs and symptoms you are being asked about
  • know the steps of the nursing process and what goes on in each of the steps and consider how they are affecting the question you are being asked
  • know and consider the principles behind the actions being done - there are many kinds of principles: principles of nursing, principles of biology, principles of chemistry, principles of physics, etc.
  • read the stem of the question carefully and answer that because the test makers try to trip you up by distracting you with conflicting information they give you in the answer choices that sounds good but has no relationship to what the question is asking for
  • ask yourself "why" a patient is experiencing some sign or symptoms to get at the underlying problem. nursing like other disciplines treats the problem/signs and symptoms.

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Specializes in Acute Care of the Elderly.

The biggest help to me has been to use Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX. I read what the NCLEX study guide says about the particular system we are studying then I read our med/surg book. When I am done I go back to the NCLEX book and do the questions at the end of that section. Good Luck!

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The biggest help to me has been to use Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX. I read what the NCLEX study guide says about the particular system we are studying then I read our med/surg book. When I am done I go back to the NCLEX book and do the questions at the end of that section. Good Luck!

Saunders and the other book the review and rationales book helped. I had my last med surg classes over the summer and it was hard at first. I started reading the big med surg book twice and went over the Saunders and the review book and my test grades changed instantly. Like from a D on the first two test to an A on the next two. It took a lot of time but I got through all of the classes doing this.

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Specializes in Icu.

I am going to use those strategies and I will get the saunders and reviews and rationales book. I am so paranoid. I started my med surg class last week and dont knwo where to begin studying. Last week all she did was syllabus but this week and actual lecture. Ahh!!!!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

You have received good links, books, etc. I struggled through med-surg too, but then I used Med-Surg Success book and started practicing the questions. I understood the material, but it was the test taking on how to answer nursing questions was the problem. I always go it down to two good answers, but it's about choosing the best one and making the others wrong. It helped and I passed. I will be taking med-surg 2 this semester and will be using those same strategies to do even better. Good luck to you.

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The biggest help to me has been to use Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX. I read what the NCLEX study guide says about the particular system we are studying then I read our med/surg book. When I am done I go back to the NCLEX book and do the questions at the end of that section. Good Luck!

I agree, this book is WONDERFUL. Knowing the content is one thing, and understanding the process is necessary, but you are really going to struggle if you don't have exposure to the NCLEX style questions and get the hang of how to answer them. They are tricky sometimes and it's not a matter of you not knowing the material, but of getting hung up on the way things are worded, etc.

I found that digging back into the things I learned in patho was very helpful. If you understand WHY things happen you don't have to work so hard and you don't have to memorize - M/S has a lot of patterns and repetition, you just have to look at it from a whole system perspective. GL, cheer up! You'll get the hang of it.

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Specializes in Electrophysiology, Medical-Surgical ICU.

im using all these tips! :-) first test next wednesday in

Med-Surg...i'm use to getting all high B and A's in my Nursing courses...but I feel for some reason that i'm not absorbing as much out of this class (it's only been a week), and i dont want to start off playing catch up!!!

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Specializes in LTC.

Miss Daytonite.

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Is this Saunder's Comprehensive Review-RN??

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